Some of the most memorable games for me are those that are a little odd, a little different; Catherine, Rub Rabbits, Shadows Of The Damned, Lollipop Chainsaw, Azura's Wrath, Hatoful Boyfriend, and Too Human. Some have dark humor others are just straight-up dark but each of them is a little hard to compare to other games. When I saw Sucker Of Love: First Date advertised I thought, a dating sim of sorts featuring a Cthulhu-like girl and dark rituals, sure why not?
We all like a change up every now and again, I get that way even with my snacks. One such snack is Lion Bars, I love the original, but sometimes I like to change it up and have a white one. It manages to be lighter and sweeter at the same time. Playing Sucker For Love: First Date I found myself asking was this the change-up I needed?
Story
The story has you take on the role of a male hostess only known as D. He has become obsessed with the occult and is trying to summon an Eldritch God using the Necronomicon he ordered online. He gets it, kind of, only it's pink, and, summons Ln'eta a cute Cthulhu-looking girl. All he wants is a smooch, she agrees as long as he doesn't mind performing a few questionable rituals.
Overall the story manages to take scenes of horror and weave in romance, and comedy, which is no easy task. Due to the multiple chapters and choices, there is a good bit of replay value to the story, and there are also a few secrets that can be used to unlock a bonus chapter.
Visuals
Considering the game was completed in ten days the visuals are pretty good. The intro and dialogue sequences are done like an anime, the apartment you will spend most of your time in has a few set pieces joined together with clickable objects you can interact with. The use of anime makes it both more and less horrific, but even with all that there is still this level of cuteness scattered throughout the game.
Overall the visuals are simple yet, detailed and help create a tense feeling.
Music
The composer is credited as being called 'XXtraspicy', I have no information on them. There were a couple of tracks on a light loop, they were simple and effective, and while I love video game soundtracks it would unlikely have changed the overall experience of the game for me.
Gameplay
The gameplay is quite a bit of fun! The apartment has a living area, with a bedroom, a bathroom, and a small area just outside of the apartment. The game has you casting spells from a book, some require candles, food, a pet, and lots of light or no light. The game has two main chapters and even getting all of the endings will only take more than a few hours.
For me the game was good but really shined went it came to chapter 3 which ended up being a boss. It took a while to get the timing right and select the right spells to win.
Overall the gameplay was a lot of fun. Again it is worth noting they had the game good to go in 10 days which is pretty impressive.
Final Thoughts
So, after a little over three hours how did I feel? Pretty good! The story is fun, silly, and dark, and blends together well. The visuals are pretty smooth and offer an anime feel. The music is there but nothing stands out about it for the length of the game there is no need for anything too in-depth. The gameplay is fun and with the exception of chapter 3 it is pretty low-stress. This one gets a solid 3 out of 5
